V2 Updates

• Removed 4 See Red
  • This card is too slow and unreliable at 2 mana and not the main color.
• Added 4 Arcane flight.
  • Since we are base blue and this is only 1 mana this seems like the much better choice.  Allows for more explosive turns with champion sometimes giving us the few extra points we need.
• Removed 2 Island
  • There are 8 2-drops in the deck.  I've been testing with 18 lands, going to test 1 island and 1 mountain next, but there are times when I don't have red and I need it to win.  I've considered testing tap lands but I feel like they might be too slow.
• Added 2 Opt
  • Still unsure about the Opt but I'm not sure what else to put here.

Recently went 6-3 and 5-3 with V2.  Any ideas for the next version are welcome.

This deck is focused on putting down an early evasive threat and loading it up with agressive or value-based aura's, and beating down quickly with one large threat and sometimes a few, all while protecting them with cheap interaction against removal.

I've had some moderate success with this and wanted to share my list as there are a few going around.  Maybe there are some innovations or suggestions people can provide to improve it.  Including my thoughts on card selection and a short guide on how to pilot this deck.

Play Guide

Keep or Mulligan

This deck has mediocre mulligan's but the mix usually doesn't require mulligan's as our curve stops at 2.  Even with a mulligan since we play cantripping aura's we can still power through for a win.  Going to 5 usually spells doom unless we hit a champion vs a deck that has minimal main deck removal.

Keepers

Since we are best of 1 right now the best hands contain 2 lands, 1 threat, 2 aura's and 2 protection.  If the protection is Storm tamer even better because we can start smashing face.  Of note that you really want the threat to be a 1 mana threat as most of the time (depending on what your opponent plays) you won't play champion on turn 2 without protection.  Champion is our bomb so we should make sure we protect it or have a backup if we run it out without protection.

Some mediocre hands can include:

1 land, 1 1-mana threat, 1 curious obsession, + other stuff. 

If we only have 1 land but we have curious obsession to suit up our threat, this can be a great hand.  If we are on the play we can always get in and get our card back.  On the chance they don't rock a lot of removal, we can draw into more lands and we really only need 2 to 3 lands to win. This is a bit risky on the draw, but if we have multiple 1 mana threats then we can continue to play those and attack and we should draw a land at some point.  If the opponent taps off of removal we can jam curious obsession to try to find those lands.  This hand usually isn't great vs aggro decks as they will be quicker than us if we don't get our lands.

1 - 3 land hands with all threats and aura's but no protection.

This is a variable hand as if we have a Champion and we are playing vs a deck with no removal we can just win on the spot, but if we don't have protection we could lose the game immediately if our 2 aura creature gets removed.  I usually keep this if i'm on the play and have a cantripping aura as we are all but garaunteed to get in since fatal push doesn't exist on Arena.  On the draw I'm a bit wary.

Mulligans

No Threats.

No matter what your hand is, you NEED a creature or you just lose.  It's very tough to keep a hand with no creatures.  However, we lose on 5 cards a lot of the time.  If you have no creatures on 6 but you have an opt, I would recommend keeping since you will get the scry and be able to opt on turn 1.

4 or more lands

There just isn't enough threat density for us to win quickly in a 4 land hand.  I have won some of these, but I don't think it's right to keep this.  This usually won't happen, but when it does, think carefully.  If you have a hand with a turn 1 threat and 2 curious obsessions on the play, you may just pull through, but any lands you draw moving forward are really going to hurt.  I usually mulligan these hands but maybe it's better than I'm thinking.  Let me know if you think differently.

All threats, no auras

This is bad, this deck doesn't top deck well.  Its sort of a combo aggro deck, and beating in with 1 power creatures is NOT aggro.  Unless you are betting on your opponent being stuck on 1 land for 3 turns, I would ship this hand.

This deck is fairly straightforward but here are some tips:

If you have the option between slither blade or mist-cloaked herald, I usually choose the slither blade to play around Fanatical Firebrand or block a Llanowar elf that was played.  If you have Siren vs other threats I usually play siren when I have access to use it immediatly.  It's a good threat, but we are playing it to protect us from removal and other spells that might disrupt us like an edict spell or settle the wreckage.  

My general rule is if I have protection, suit up 1 threat and hold up protection EVERY TURN.  If you have 2 protection spells, you may want to hold them both up if your threat is huge and your opponent still has a hand full of cards. If your opponent has already used a lot of removal, you can diversify your threats if you have no protection and usually close out the game if they draw removal.

USE SPELL PIERCE First.  Spell pierce is great as we have very few lands and we can hold up 1 blue easily, but if you are holding multiple protection spells, spell pierce should go first. If the opponent suspects it, it will be very easy to play around at 4+ mana. Use it at the earliest appropriate time.  It never feels good to lose because you had an opportunity to use this and passed to save for a planeswalker or something. 

If you don't have champion, play your aura's on the threats you do have.  If you have champion try to hold your auras until you play the champion.  This isn't always true, but you can win the game in 2 champion attacks usually, if you have the aura's to support him.  You can use your other threats to get in a few damage, and then hit with champion for 7 or 11 on turns 4 and 5 to close out the game.  If you don't have champion, your goal is to find him quick.  Use your card draw aura's to do that,  If you run out of draw, just suit up your damage aura's on your other threat and go to town.  Sometimes you will need to play defensively if you have too many spells and only 1 or 2 mana.  This can work as well as long as you have protection you should be able to get the champion big enough to kill in 1 hit.

Card Thoughts

4 Siren Stormtamer

4 Slither Blade

4 Mist-Cloaked Herald

4 Champion of the Flame

Since we need a threat for our Aura's to do something, we need to have a creature in our opener.  To that end, 16 seems like a good count.

Mist-Cloaked Herald and Slither Blade are both evasive (unblockable) and can still block for us in a pinch.  Since we are based blue we should have blue mana on turn 1.  I like Slither Blade as well over some of the other evasive creatures because it dodges Goblin Chainwhirler and Fanatical Firebrand.  Mist-Cloaked Herald is our other good threat but not as good as Slither Blade because of the 1 toughness.  Siren Stormtamer is great in this deck for protecting our suited up threats from removal as well as being an evasive creature that can get in for a few point of damage and block in a pinch.  The Siren protects us from Settle the wreckage as well as any spells that might target us.  Champion of the Flame is our suprise finisher.  Sometimes we can suit up Champion with 3 aura's on turn 3 and get in for 10+ damage and maybe draw some cards.  More realistically this is a 4 or 7 power creature on turn 4 that we can protect and finish out the game quickly.

4 Dive Down

2 Spell Pierce

A timely removal spell can be disaster for this deck as we are setting ourselves up to lose a 2 for 1, 3 for 1 or more.  We need to protect our threats, especially if they haven't generated any value with Cartouche of Knowledge or Curious obsession.  Siren Stormtamer is not enough, but with access to 4 Dive Downs and the oft unplayed Spell Pierce we can always leave up 1 blue to protect our threats since our curve is only 1 and 2 drops.

4 Cartouche of Knowledge

4 Curious Obsession

4 Consuming Fervor

4 See Red

The Aura options are varied but I've been experimenting with this mix to some success.  Cartouche of Knowledge and Curious Obsession can help us find more threats / auras / protection.  Consuming Fervor and See Red help us beat down and end the game quickly before the opponent can cast their powerful spells.  I'll review some of the other options below in the Maybeboard.

2 Opt

Testing these out current.  Often times you will need a creature in the early game to replace a threat, or an aura in the late game to finish off.  We usually have the extra mana to spend digging a bit deeper but we want to keep up protection.  I might replace this with something else but I'm not sure about this one.

4 Sulfur Falls

4 Mountain

12 Island

Only 12 red spells that you never cast on turn 1.  This seems like the right mix but open to suggestions or math.

Maybeboard - 10 cards (10 distinct)

1 Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

Had this in my original 60, never cast it because the game was lost or won by that point or I was never patient enough.  With 20 lands it's tough to get to 4 mana to hold up protection and it doesn't really fit with the game plan.  I could see this in a side board to pressure control decks, but even then it seems a bit mediocre.

1 One With the Wind

Vs Cartouche of Knowledge

This speeds up the clock a bit, but doesn't cycle.  I haven't tested it yet but it may be worth considering if I play a lot of matches and end up 2 to 3 damage shy of victory.  

Vs See Red

This could be better as it provides additional toughness and doesn't require attacking in case we have to go on defense for a turn, as well as the fact we are based blue so it's easier to cast.

1 Swashbuckling

Haste may actually be relevant here as we are aggressive, but I usually don't want to tap out and most of the time I only have 3 or 4 mana.  Probably doesn't come in but I haven't tested it.

1 Cartouche of Zeal

Now this kind of haste I can get behind as it is 1 mana, but you get 1 less power.  The no blocks ability usually isn't relevant as our creature is usually big, or unblockable.  Haven't tested but could lead to some explosive turns with Champion of the Flame.

1 Tilonalli's Crown

This only really works with a Slither Blade or another creature that's already suited up, probably not playable.

1 Honed Khopesh

1 Short Sword

I tried these but 2 mana for +1/+1 just isn't worth it, works well if a creature dies and you can re-equip, but our deck is trying to be faster than that and these just seem way too slow.

1 Curator's Ward

This was an interesting card.  Some games it was a blow out, other's it's just too slow.  After playing a lot with it, I felt like it was too situational and didn't add enough power to the board for 3 mana.

1 Arcane Flight

The flying part isn't relevant, however, since we are based blue and the mana can vary, this is something I want to test.  It's essentially +1/+1 for 1 mana, but sometimes those insane turnes with Champion of the Flame win you the game, and they happen fairly often since that's what our deck it setup to do.

1 Frenzied Rage

If the final version of this wants a red aura, I thought See Red might be better than this but See Red doesn't jive well with blocking.  I like the first strike of See Red better for attacks but I think if I wanted the option to block with a 2 mana aura I might like One With the Wind better.  Haven't tested but open to thoughts from people that have.